Dale Theatre
189 W. 231st Street,
Bronx,
NY
10463
189 W. 231st Street,
Bronx,
NY
10463
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Brandt Theaters
Functions: Bingo Hall, Restaurant, Storage
Styles: Art Deco
Nearby Theaters
The Dale opened in the 30s, located in the Riverdale area of the Bronx on 231st Street near Broadway. The Art Deco-style movie house closed in the mid-90s and today is used as a bingo hall, a diner and a furniture warehouse.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
There was a bomb explosion in the Dale Theater as well as in the Loew’s Paradise on the Grand Concourse [188th St]. The bombs went off within minutes of one another at about 9:30 PM. The Dale was showing Cactus Flower – the Loew’s showed the Liberation of L. B. Jones. 10 people were injured at the Dale – where the more serious of the explosions occurred – one at the Loew’s. There was an article in the NY Times on 3 May 1970 entitled: Bronx Bombing Scored by Mayor. The NY Daily News had a picture of a local Catholic grammar school teacher being carried out by two firemen. He taught at St. John’s on Godwin Terrace.
I’ve been out of the area since 1991 – I am surprise to here from the above account that the place was bombed again in the 1990s.
I was eleven at the time and back then there were rumors of it being a targeted attack. I’ve done some digging lately out of curiosity and had been unaware of the second bomb at the Loew’s Paradise. Was that the theater right on the Concourse with the grat clock and steam driven figures [St George and the dragon] and the great ceiling similiar to Grand Central Station?
It closed around late 1993. I was a high school student from the nearby JFK High School and the last movie I saw there was “Needful Things” around the time. I remember watching “Batman”, “Passenger 57”, “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”, “Ghostbusters II”, and “Rapid Fire”
“The Moon is Blue” was famous because it was one of the first major films to go out without the MPAA Seal.
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Here is a photo taken off of Google maps:
http://tinyurl.com/5pngb2
A great old photo
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The Dale Theatre was under construction when it was mentioned in Boxoffice, July 3, 1937. Later issues indicate an opening sometime between August and October that year. It was built for Harry Brandt.
Looking at the photos linked in the previous two comemnts, I fancy the Dale has a strong similarity to the Kent Theatre that was opened in Brooklyn during the same era. Harry Brandt was a partner in the Kent Theatre, which was designed by Charles Sandblom. Could the Dale be another Sandblom design? Boxoffice isn’t telling.
I was there when the bomb went off during Cactus Flower. I was about 10: it never stopped me from going back for many years. They used to have Disney double features there during the summers.
I was also there when they started showing Midnight Movies, they showed The Rolling Stones – I think it was “Sympathy for the Devil ( bad choice ) there was a riot and the screen was damaged and the little box office out front vandalized.
I saw “A Woman Under the Influence” at the Dale. They had a ridiculous round illuminated clock on the top left corner of the screen! Not only the time but it said The Dime Savings Bank. Made a long movie even longer!
I have been looking for the name of this theater for years- I was also there the night of the 1970 bombing during the movie Cactus Flower- it was terrifying- I didn’t go to a movie for a year and never went back to the Dale. I thought the other bombs were in Manhattan that day.I was there with a friend named Gary-he was very helPfull when I froze during the melee.
In the 1950s and early 60’s, I lived not far away and went here often. At 560 seats, it would now be one of the largest theaters in NYC, but at the time, it was considered tiny. I was taken by my father to see Fantasia here in 1955, which is the first film I remember seeing in a theater. I also saw “Freud” there around 1962. It tended to play slightly higher-class films than the RKO Marble Hill around the corner, although I think I saw far more films at the RKO. When I got a little older, I’d take the bus to the Loew’s Paradise.